To the Ends of the Galaxy: Sins of the Republic
by Qymaen
Summary: The Galaxy is at peace. The Republic has been in an era of economic prosperity for decades. Most beings are happy and content in their current state, but on the edges of the galaxy a dark empire is finishing its preparations for a deadly war.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **Hey there, I'm Qymaen and while this is not my first story I've written it is my first real fanfiction as well as my first fiction on this site. Hopefully you guys will like this. This is the prologue for a chapter-by-chapter I hope I have the time to write. It takes place during the years before the Great Glactic War. I usually write with more mature language, but not for the Prologue. I will also be doing some things that won't correspond with what is known about TOR and the Great Galactic War so don't hate me. Please review and point out any problems, errors, contradictions, etc. Be as brutal as possible, but I'd also like to know if you actually enjoyed the story. Thanks and enjoy. ^_^

**Disclaimer: **I am merely a Star Wars fan and have no affiliation with Lucasfilm, LucasArts, 21st Century, or George Lucas. If their are parallels between my OCs and those of Star Wars they are accidental. I do not own Star Wars or anything affiliated with it.

**Edit: **I have placed this story on hiatus. I am currently working on another one. I don't know when I'll restart this. Sorry.

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><p><strong>To the Ends of the Galaxy<strong>

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

**XS Freighter: **_**Mynock's Talon**_

_Orbit over Nal Hutta  
><em>

The _Mynock's Talon _exited from hyperspace. The XS Freighter ignited its engines and flew towards the capital of the Hutt criminal empire, Nal Hutta. The bridge comm crackled. _Incoming freighter stop your approach towards Nal Hutta. If you move another meter towards Nal Hutta we will fire upon your vessel. An inspection crew will board your vessel and clear it of anything that could pose a threat to Nal Hutta and her space forces._

The _Talon_ did not slow its approach, in fact it sped up. The comm crackled again. _Unidentified vessel you have violated Hutt Space. You will now be treated as a hostile target and shall be dealt with accordingly._ The comm went dead and the _Talon _continued to rocket towards Nal Hutta. Ahead, defense platforms that surrounded the planet began spitting red lasers at the ship.

Down on the planet below seven Hutt fighters lifted off to destroy the _Talon. _By the time they had entered lower Nal Hutta orbit the heavily modified freighter had just started to break through the atmosphere. It had taken heavy damage from the defense platforms, but had flown by so fast they hadn't been able to finish the job.

As it pushed through the atmosphere of Nal Hutta, the _Talon_ was an out and out wreck. Parts of it were already flying off, but what mattered was the cargo inside of it, which had survived the trip so far. As it continued to plunge through Nal Hutta's atmosphere the _Talon_ began burning up and looked like a falling meteor to bystanders on the planet below.

As the Hutt fighters neared the _Talon_ a dozen and a half missiles were fired from the apparently doomed ship. This greatly surprised the pilots pursuing the _Talon._ Five of them were destroyed right away and the other two managed to evade the missiles before other ones smashed into them a few seconds later.

By the time more fighters could be scrambled the _Talon _was approaching its target. On board the _Talon _the five droids that were occupying and running the ship left the bridge and headed to the cargo hold. They picked up a large durasteel container. One of the droids typed in a security code in the small keypad along the wall of the _Talon's _cargo hold. Miraculously the loading ramp had not been torn off of the wrecked ship. The ramp slowly lowered itself. If there were sentient beings aboard the _Talon _they would have marveled at the thousands of different shades of red, orange, and yellow that trailed off of the ship. The five droids just lifted the heavy container off of the floor and slowly walked over to the edge of the ramp. They set the container back on the floor and shoved it off of the flaming ship.

The container plummeted to the ground. One of the droids then walked back up to the barely intact comm system. On a secure frequency a short, four-word message shot off into space, barely managing to evade the Hutt jamming signals. A few minutes later the _Mynock's Talon _slammed into an apartment complex. The explosion was tremendous.

**Headquarters of the Sith Intelligence Bureau**

_Dromund Kaas  
><em>

The aide rushed down one of the many corridors in Sith Intelligence Headquarters. The datapad he was holding was of critical importance and he had to get to Darth Jadus as soon as possible. To his misfortune the hallways were packed. It just so happened to be orientation day for the new cadets. He pushed and shoved through the mass of eager cadets.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably a few minutes, the aid cleared the hallway and rushed down another, this time empty, corridor. After a couple dozen or so minutes of twisting and turning corridors he arrived at Darth Jadus' personal office. He stood in front of the door for a few moments to slow his breathing. Darth Jadus did not like his aides to be unprofessional.

When he reached out to turn the doorknob the door itself swung out and a deep voice beckoned him to the small desk in the center of the room. There was a single wooden chair in front of the desk. Behind the desk a looming figure that exhumed power and coldness was staring out at the Imperial City through a large window in the back of the room. "Sit." the figure said icily. The aide quickly sat down. "What are you doing here? You've interrupted my meditation exercises. Explain yourself. Now."

The aide gulped and gave him a short answer. "Sir, Operation Criminal Takeout was a success." The aide handed Jadus the small datapad he'd been carrying. "Leave me." demanded Jadus. The aide bowed and left the room. Jadus stared at the only words on the datapad: _Operation has been completed._

Using the Force Jadus lifted the datapad in the air and quickly crushed it into a small metal ball. Using the Force again he hurled it out of the window. The now destroyed datapad flew out of the window, along with some glass, and tumbled down to the ground. Jadus sat back on the floor and restarted his meditation techniques.

**Entertainment District**

_Nal Hutta  
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Valo Xenorex watched as the freighter smashed into Apartment Building 13. He smiled inwardly. It just so happened that that apartment complex had been the living quarters of a Bothan pest who had been following him ever since he'd landed on this slimeball planet the Hutts called their capital. He brushed off the appealing thought and quickly strode over to where the container that had fallen out of the burning freighter landed. It had landed in an alley. _Just as planned_ he thought to himself.

He quickly typed in the security key and took out the contents. Inside were sixteen small vials of Mynock blood that had been tainted with some disease that he could not think of at the moment, but was supposed to be lethal to Hutts when airborne and, if placed in water, lethal to species ranging from Kaminoans to Humans to Zabrak to Rodians. He quickly pocketed the vials in the hidden pockets within the brown robe he was wearing and strode off to the building he currently lived in.

When he arrived at the entrance to his door Valo sensed malicious thoughts in his room. He pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it. The blade extended out of the hilt and bathed the narrow and dark hallway in its deadly red glow. He summoned the Force and pushed the durasteel door forward. He heard the screams of a few beings and shattering glass as they, and the door, flew out of the window. He smiled savagely and stormed into the room. The thieves were still in shock over what had happened to their comrades. During their distraction Valo struck with immediacy, power, and accuracy. By the time the thieves could bring their weapons to bear he'd cut down six of the remaining ten. Luckily for him the remaining four were all on the left side of the room. Bolts of blue lightning shot out of his fingertips at the remaining, luckless, souls. Three of them were electrocuted to death. One of them, a Zabrak, managed to dive out of the way. He crouched behind a chair and managed to squeeze off a couple of laser bolts before he dropped his blaster pistol and started reaching for his throat. Valo lifted the Zabrak off of the ground and slowly squeezed his fist together. The Zabrak tried to, but couldn't, manage a scream. He whimpered and slackened.

Valo dropped him onto the ground and calmly walked over to the holophone and demanded to speak with Carion, the Hutt in charge of the Apartment Complexes within Sector A of the Entertainment District of Nal Hutta. After some threats he managed to speak directly to Carion. When Carion's hologram appeared Valo winced inwardly. As most Hutts were, Carion was a slimy, disgusting worm who was just begging for a slow and painful death. Valo brushed the thought aside. He began speaking Huttese, "Carion this is the second time thieves have broken into my apartment since I moved into this closet you call a luxury suite. Improve the security systems in this building or something unfortunate may happen to you and your revenue sources." Carion just bellowed in laughter. He angrily hung up and began plotting ways to deal with the Hutt. Then he could concentrate on his mission.

**Western Dune Sea**

_Tatooine  
><em>

Jedi Knight Brianna Lov flipped over a rock that had been thrown back at her. The Sith she'd been chasing Force pushed a boulder at Brianna. She ignited her lightsaber and sliced through the boulder, separating it into two parts. The Sith apprentice, she'd figured out what he was by his weak use of the Force, jumped on top of a rock arch. Brianna, too, leaped onto the arch and continued to chase the apprentice deactivating her lightsaber in the process.

While not strong in the Force the apprentice was quite smart and quick on his feet. From the records she'd studied, during her apprenticeship to Jedi Master Ron Dualt, she'd also concluded that the Sith was training to be an Assassin. Well she planned to stop his training right here on Tatooine.

She continued dodging whatever the apprentice threw at her. She was slowly gathering the Force so she could Force leap in front of the assassin-in-training. When she'd gathered enough energy she leapt in front of the apprentice. He skidded to a stop. Genuine surprise covered his tattooed face. She ignited her green lightsaber and made a come-at-me hand gesture.

Fury, probably at being outsmarted by a Jedi, soon pushed away the surprise from earlier. He ignited his blood red lightsaber and charged towards Brianna. Brianna shifted into the Soresu stance and deflected each and every one of the strikes made by the apprentice with minimal effort. The clash and sizzle of the lightsabers was both blinding and deafening, but Brianna didn't even notice. She had given herself completely to the Force, trusting it to keep her alive and extinguish the dark presence before her.

The apprentice began tiring and Brianna quickly shifted to the Ataru style of lightsaber combat. The lightsabers clashed once again, but this time Brianna was on the offensive. Brianna drove the apprentice back towards the edge of the rock arch they were on. He clumsily blocked her precise and powerful strikes, barely managing to block more than a few of her strikes and stabs.

Brianna spotted an opening in his faltering defense and in one swift motion she knocked the blade out of the apprentice's hand and force pushed him off of the arch. She leaped down a few meters away from him. "Young Sith as a Knight of the Jedi Order I am ordering you to stand down and be prepared for arrest. You have until three to- _oof_!" Suddenly Brianna was knocked onto the ground. The Sith apprentice stood up and half-ran, half-stumbled towards the speeders that they'd been on when Brianna's chase had begun way back in Mos Eisley.

She quickly got up and Force Ran to the stumbling apprentice. When she realized she wouldn't reach him in time she threw her lightsaber at the young man. It bisected him by entering near his right shin and exiting through his left elbow. She summoned back her lightsaber and walked over to her speeder. She hopped on to the speeder and zoomed back to Mos Eisley, leaving the Sith's body behind to be forever buried by the merciless sands of the Twin Sun planet, Tatooine.


	2. Preliminary Actions

**Author's Note: **Hey there, it's Qymaen and here is the first chapter of my chapter-by-chapter story, To the Galaxy's End. This is _Book I: Sins of the Republic._ Don't let the title fool you. There is no religious content from the real world. The rest of the story will have stronger language and violence than the Prologue. While not essential reading the prologue does give you feel for my writing and it also introduces some key characters and lets the story make more sense. Please review and point out an problems, errors, contradictions, etc. As author I have taken certain liberties with the TOR timeline, so in case you were wondering it is partially AU. Of course it may go full AU. Who knows? Not even I know. Thanks and enjoy. ^_^

**Disclaimer: **I am merely a Star Wars fan and have no personal or professional affiliation with George Lucas, 21st Century, or anything affiliated with the two. This is a work of fiction and will rarely have any official Star Wars characters in it unless they are integral to the story's flow and rhythm.

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><p><strong>To the Ends of the Galaxy<strong>

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><p><span>Preliminary Actions<span>

**Ordo-class Dreadnought: **_**Canderous Ordo**_

_Orbit over Telti_

Wing Commander Bron Deskaar was fitting on his flight suit and armor. Once finished he began brandishing his Verpine Blaster Carbine and two Mandal Blaster pistols. Bron was the commander of the most elite Mandalorian starfighter squadron, Ordo Squadron. For some reason Mandalore had ordered the fleet that the Mandalorians had been secretly building ever since their defeat in the War of Honor 300+ years ago by the Republic, to assemble at the planet of Telti, a colony that had been acquired by the previous Mandalore some twenty years ago.

No matter what he thought he had to follow orders. After all he wasn't a bounty hunter anymore, and hadn't been one for more than fifteen years. He checed his chrono. He had to be on the bridge of the _Canderous_ _Ordo_ in half-an-hour. He did one final check of his beloved weapons, he'd won them in tournament when he started his bounty hunting career some twenty five years ago, and walked out of his quarters to the bridge.

Now that he thought about it he was glad officers got to sleep by themselves. Those ensigns had to sleep in rooms with up to three other guys. He inwardly shuddered. He remembered the days when the smell of unwashed bodies made him sick. To the members of the _Canderous Ordo_ and, especially, his squadron he was a mustang. He figured this was about as high he could go in rank considering how old he was. It was then that he remembered his age. _47_ he thought to himself.

A few minutes later he was at the bridge. Off to his left a few of the other squadron leaders were joking around. Clearly Mandalore had not arrived yet. Bron walked over to them and was able to recognize at least one of them. "Well I'll be a son of a bitch." he muttered to himself. "Mary Axtal," he called to the only woman in the group. She looked up and a smile rose up on her face. "Well, well if it isn't Bron Deskaar. What are you doing here Deskaar? Last I heard you were slowly rotting in some Exchange prison." Bron chuckled, "Oh I got away safe and unharmed. My guards…well let's just say that they aren't getting their paychecks any time soon." Mary threw her head back and laughed loudly. "What the hell are you doing here?" asked Bron. "You finally given up on bounty hunting? Mandalore needs every warm body available to soak up blaster fire so the real warriors can fight." Mary threw her head back and laughed again. "No. I'm still a bounty hunter. In fact I've got my own bounty." she said proudly. "Don't recall you ever getting one." she sneered.

Bron's smirk was hidden behind his helmet. "No, but I do have a death mark." Mary's face was indignant. Bron laughed and walked off towards the second-in-command of the _Canderous Ordo_, Salam Deskaar, his brother. When Salam spotted Bron he broke the conversation he was in with an ensign and stood there smiling that goofy smile of his. "Well _Commander_, how does it feel?" "How does what feel, Bron? Salam countered. Bron laughed again, "How does it feel to be of higher rank than your mustang of a brother. This time Salam laughed, "It feels good. Now let's see if you can follow my orders. You never did back when we were kids." Salam smirked. Bron chuckled, "That's because I was the older brother."

Bron noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He and Salam turned to see who had arrived late. When they recognized the armor they stiffly saluted. The man in front of them saluted back. Salam turned to face the majority of officers. "Mandalore on deck!" he shouted.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and saluted Mandalore. Mandalore quickly saluted back and nodded at Salam. "At ease!" yelled Salam. Everyone shifted into the at ease position with their hands clasped behind their backs. Mandalore and Salam moved out of earshot and spoke quietly to each other. About ten minutes later they came back to where they'd been previously. No one had moved a muscle.

Mandalore spoke, "Officers of the Mandalorian Navy, today is the day we gain back our honor. The Republic will not be prepared for the coming invasion. This time we have a bigger fleet and they have no battle hardened soldiers." The officers chanted the Mandalorian War Chant "Beskar!" over and over. After a couple of minutes the cheering died down. "We have been contacted by rather wealthy benefactors to distract the Republic while they too seek vengeance against the weak Republic. Tomorrow we will strike against the Republic in a concentrated attack at the critical world of Kuat."

Some of the officers, including Bron, were puzzled at the mention of Kuat. All they knew about the insignificant planet was that a tiny mining operation was operating there. Sure a small shipbuilding company, Kuat Ship, had taken over shipbuilding operations after the planet was wrecked by one of Revan's fleets, but other than that Kuat had no strategic importance. Then again the last time any Mandalorian had even taken a second look at Kuat for over fifty years.

"I see you are confused." said Mandalore. "Since our last intel on Kuat, gathered some fifty years, was studied the Republic has greatly expanded the formerly wrecked shipyards and repaired all of the formerly damaged docks and ports. Ships are flying out of those docks every standard month. In conjunction with the shipyards at Corellia and Taris the Republic has the ability to quickly turn out ships if an attack against it does not succeed quickly. Luckily they are stretched thin and if we neutralize Kuat, the largest of the three, we can push on towards Coruscant and sack both the Republic in one quick stroke."

The _Beskar_ chant rose out of the gathering of officers once more. A few minutes later Mandalore released the officers from the bridge. Most were from other ships so for now starfighter patrols were limited to those from other ships. To waste some time, Bron decided to hang out with the radar crew.

As he approached the radar station blips were appearing on the holoboard representing surrounding space. _Shit! What the hell was the Republic doing here?_ was his first thought. He swore, but this time out loud. Most of the starfighters on the _Ordo_ were docked as the officers from earlier were ferried back to their respective ships. That meant that the very few fighters who were CSPing (Combat Space Patrol) would be swiftly brushed aside. Adding insult to injury they just so happened to be out on their first CSP. Their control was sloppy and they could barely manage to hold formation. He stared at the holoboard. As the blips got closer general quarters was sounded. He wished he could be out there dying for the glory of Mandalore, but he stayed planted at the radar station. _We must prevail. We have to. It is our destiny. _Despite what he thought the red blips just got closer and closer to the fleet.

**Jedi Academy**

_Tython_

Jedi Knight Brianna Lov silently walked down one of the gorgeous hallways of the Jedi Academy on Tython. Only the Jedi Order knew of the ancient planet. It was here that any and all future Jedi were taken to begin their training in the ways of the Force. She saw a Twi'lek youngling walk down the hallway. She was actually skipping and humming an unfamiliar tune while her lekku swung back and forth. The youngling quickly halted and bowed to Brianna. Brianna returned the act of courtesy and the youngling skipped off, humming that same tune.

Brianna continued to walk down the silent hallway. Besides the Togruta she had seen no other beings. She was glad for that. She still needed more time to think about the duel she had had with that Sith Apprentice back on Tatooine. _A Sith, _she thought to herself, _how could there possible be any more Sith in existence? They'd been destroyed by the Jedi over 300 years ago. Hadn't they?_ Brianna needed to meditate. Maybe that would clear her mind. Brianna picked up her pace and headed to her room.

When she reached her room Brianna felt two familiar presences in her room. She inwardly smiled and punched in the code for her room. As expected her two closest friends, a Bothan and in the entire Jedi Order were in there. The one she hugged first was a Bothan with the most beautiful fur this side of the Corporate Sector. "Eelya!" Brianna exclaimed excitedly. "What are you doing here? Won't the library fall apart without you?" Eelya Wen'lya blushed. She never had been comfortable with praise. Brianna couldn't contain her laugh. "I think they'll be fine with Master Dural there." Eelya answered.

The second being, a Quarren, gave her a _what about me?_ look. "Eelya who is your friend? I've never seen him before." Brianna said sarcastically. The Quarren's face heated up. "Just come over here and hug me, you schutta." Brianna laughed and gave Amit Nowt a squeeze. "Well Amit how are you doing? Has Master Zenu finally run you out of his apprenticeship?" The Quarren face went dead serious. "I don't even want to talk about him." Brianna laughed once again. The Quarren always made her laugh. He had an ego the size of Bespin, but the subtlety and tact of a Gamorrean.

She went straight to the point. "What are you two doing here?" she asked. Eelya spoke up, "We were wondering if you'd like to spar with us. Amit says he wants to show us a move that Master Zenu had taught him." Master Zenu Holu was a Barabel and the Academy's greatest swordsman. There were rumors he was even better than Grand Master Zym.

Despite her elation at seeing her friends she had to decline the offer. "Sorry, but I can't. I ran into…. a vision while on my mission to visit Darba the Hutt on Tatooine." It was a half-truth any way. The Sith she'd fought _was_ a possible indication of events yet to come.

Both Eelya and Amit sensed how serious she was. "O-okay." said Amit. "We'll catch you later." Brianna smiled, "Of course. Remember caf at 0850." This time Amit smiled, "We'll remember. By that I mean Eelya will end up dragging my sorry behind over to the cafeteria.

Brianna laughed as they walked out of her room. With each passing second she grew more serious. "What were the Sith doing back?" she muttered to herself. "And why was one on Tatooine of all places?" Something was up. _Should I tell the Council? No they'll never believe me. _

Brianna wasn't sure what to do. There was no way in hell the Council would think the Sith had returned. They firmly believed that they had been eradicated over three centuries ago. She took off her robe, hung it on her door, and sat down to meditate. Brianna crossed her legs, cleared her mind of all thoughts, and released herself to the Force.

During her time under Master Dualt's tutelage meditation had always been one of the techniques she'd shown the least understanding, and attention, of. She'd always thought that meditating was a waste of time. Why sit down and clear all thoughts from your mind when you could easily think of a solution to any problem by just studying your surroundings and using the resources around you? After a mission on Prakith had gone terribly wrong, only four of the original 23 Jedi sent to Prakith had survived unharmed, she'd used meditation to help purge the nightmares of the tragedy from her subconscious mind. They did flare up every now and then, but a nightmare hadn't come for over eight weeks.

Brianna was hoping that the Sith she had seen was just a Sith wannabe or a fallen Jedi. She clung to that hope, but as she searched the Force for the answers she so desperately craved that hope slowly fell away. All she'd seen were brief fragments of her time with Master Dualt. Not so much as an image of Korriban or a red lightsaber had entered her mind. After five hours of failed searching she broke her connection and sighed.

The Force had offered no answers to her problem. _Maybe I _should_ go see the council. No, no. They'll think I'm off my nut!_ A thought sprung into her head. _Master Dualt!_ _He can help me._ Brianna grabbed her Jedi robe and raced out of the room to the small hut that Master Dualt lived in.

**Entertainment District**

_Nal Hutta_

Valo Xenorex walked down Main Street of the Entertainment District on Nal Hutta. He ignored the calls and shouts for his attention from the various merchants and prostitutes, they preferred to be called comfort girls, that inhabited the Entertainment District. Valo had been tempted to accept a few offers from the girls, he _was_ long overdue, but had decided to stay focused on his mission.

He turned a corner and spotted his contact among the throng of shoppers. Tall and lean, the Bothan Rendar Gax was one of the best slicers this side of Nar Shaddaa, or so he'd claimed when Valo had contacted him. Valo pulled out a small container and pressed a button. A small nanodroid flew out of the cap and rushed off towards Rendar. Valo then promptly walked into an alley.

A few minutes later Rendar appeared at the other end of the alleyway. Valo just stood there as Rendar got closer. He was carrying a bag. Valo decided not to ask Rendar of its contents.

"Are you ready?" Valo asked gravelly. "Yes oh, mighty Sith Lord." Rendar responded. Valo's alertness rose, but then subsided. This fool had no way of knowing who or what he was, besides he'd left his lightsaber back in the apartment. Either way he decided that he did not like Rendar and planned to dispose of him once his mission was complete. "Let's go." The two headed off towards the spaceport.

More calls, more wares, and more bosoms were shoved into his and Rendar's face. More than once Rendar tried to accept the offers of the prostitutes. Well a clearly defined blaster to the face had solved that problem quickly. When the two arrived at the spaceport they headed over to a small speeder store.

An overexcited hostess welcomed them. "Welcome to Logan's Rent-a-Speeder Shoppe. We have the finest speeders available this side of Coruscant. Don't you think speeders of this quality are too expensive for such modest shoppers like yourself?" "Yes." Valo replied clearly annoyed. The hostess must not have noticed. "Well then you'll be surprised that each shuttle can be rented for the low, low price of 250 credits!"

250 credits! That was much too high, but compared to other shops on this mudball it _was_ extremely low_._ "Wow, 250 credits?" Valo said, faking perplexity. "That's a steal. I'll take one." The hostess flashed an annoying smile. "Well follow me to the showroom and you can pick one yourself. Valo and Rendar followed the hostess. Valo just randomly chose a speeder. "Ooh. I like that one." "That's a good choice. The Dx-3 airspeeder is a perfect fit for you two valuable customers." The hostess replied. It was clearly something she'd said over and over. The speeder she led them to was sleek and red and appeared to be in perfect working order_ Appearances can be deceiving. _Valo thought to himself. After paying a rather corpulent human for the speeder Rendar and Valo raced off to the Hutt Palace on the other side of the Entertainment district.

As they approached the gates of the Hutt Palace four guards, bounty hunters by the look of them, stopped them. One of them, a Human, approached them. "Let we see your security passes." Valo waved his right hand. "We have our passes. The Hutts must speak to us right away." The guard repeated what Valo had said and waved them ahead. Rendar looked at Valo in disbelief. "How did you- where did you-" "Don't worry about it." Valo promptly said_._

The journey to the Hutt Palace was long and the 'trail' was winding. When they arrived Valo quickly eliminated the eight guards using force lightning. It was then that Rendar spoke. "Holy Sith! You're a Jedi!" Valo turned towards Rendar and lifted the man in the air, slightly clenching his fist. "Don't you _ever_ say that again. I am not a Jedi. I am a Sith. Does this bother you?" Valo sneered. Rendar was clutching his neck. "N-no. As long…as I…get my…credits…I won't…say a word." Valo dropped Rendar, "Good. Do what I tell you and you'll be fine." Rendar slowly lifted himself up while gasping for air. _Yes, Rendar was definitely being disposed of._

They slowly crept through the corridors of the Hutt Palace. Every guard they encountered was quickly eliminated. "How much longer?" Valo whispered. "It should be at the end of the next corridor." Rendar answered. When they entered the control room it was suspiciously empty. "I have a bad feeling about this." Rendar whispered. Valo waved away the concern. "Whatever, just do what you have to do."

Rendar got to work. After about ten minutes he was still working on the computer terminal. "What the hell is taking you so long?" Valo sneered. "Hey, the system's tight. Normally I'd be able to crack this stuff within five seconds. Seems the Hutts have tightened up their security after that crash a few days back." Valo silently cursed. He hadn't expected this.

Valo started coughing and his vision began to blur. He heard Rendar shout something. It sounded sort of like… gas. He started getting dizzy and had to use the control panel to support himself. _What the hell's going on? _he screamed silently. Moments later both he and Rendar were on the floor unconscious.

**Sith Battleship: **_**Chaos**_

_Orbit over Dromund Kaas _

Admiral Hakuto slowly walked down the main corridor of the _Chaos_, the flagship of the Sith Primary Fleet. His angry footsteps echoed throughout the corridor. He pulled out his personal datapad that no one_, _noteven his bodyguards and aides, on the _Chaos_ knew existed. He flicked through the numerous security codes quickly and quietly. He opened the file titled _Alpha-class Orders_ and read through them for the umpteenth time. Although the message was only four sentences long every word he read just got him angrier and angrier. _Adm. Hakuto you, and your fleet, are hereby ordered to deploy your fleet to the Hole System. Once you have arrived in-system you will be assigned to protecting a research team led by Kelstin. You are not to leave the system until explicitly told to do so. If anyone enters the system without proper authorization you are to eliminate them whether they are lowly soldiers or Jadus, himself._

Hakuto angrily shook the small datapad. After a few minutes he managed to calm himself down and pocketed the private datapad. He continued walking down the corridor thinking of the message. Of course "the Hole System" meant the Maw Cluster and Kelstin was the Sith Lord in charge of Experimental Weaponry for the Sith Navy, but even this prestigious mission, he had been promoted to Admiral from Captain because of it, did not wipe away Hakuto's fury. He wanted to be in the thick of battle when the Sith Navy struck against the over stretched Republic.

Within five minutes Hakuto had arrived at the bridge of the _Chaos_. He strode up to the small durasteel chair in the center of the bridge and sat in it. He had specifically requested it so that he could keep up his edge. Unlike most Captain's chairs in Sith ships, his chair had only two steps in front of it instead of the customary eight. Hakuto chuckled inwardly. He'd known more than a few Captains who'd fallen down the steps when rushing to whatever part of the ship during live-fire drills.

His Rodian aide, Vaklo, rushed up to him as he sat down. The _Chaos'_ second-in-command, a small Sullustan by the name of Eebib Ellb, was a step behind him. After some quick salutes Ellb shouted to the officers. "Captain on deck!" Immediately the crew of the bridge sprang up from their seats and saluted Hakuto. After a few moments Hakuto saluted back, "At ease. Well boys, it seems that our orders have changed. Anyone want to take a guess as to what they now entail?" No one spoke a word. "Never any fun," Hakuto loudly muttered. The bridge crew gave out hardy laughs. Hakuto smiled at his success.

After a few moments silence had returned. Hakuto took on his captain's voice. "Officers of the _Chaos_ we have received orders from Moff Quop that the _Chaos_ and the Sith Primary Fleet will be deploying to the Maw Cluster to act as an escort and guard of a Sith Research Team being led by Sith Lord Kelstin, the head of the Experimental Weaponry Department."

He paused. A few of his brighter officers saw what was coming next and fury suddenly burned in their eyes. The rest let out a few groans at having to do guard duty, nothing more. "Boys, we will NOT be participating in the initial attack, or any subsequent attacks, into Republic space. We will, until ordered otherwise, be guarding this most important research team." Hakuto paused again and listened intently to the officers grumbling to themselves into disbelief. He even heard a few curses. Well more than a few actually. He nodded to Ellb. "Dismissed!" the small Sullustan yelled, and the crew did just that. Hakuto wearily sat down. His announcement had been more draining than he'd expected.

_A few hours later. _

Captain Hakuto arrived back at the bridge after he'd been able to snatch a couple hours of sleep. He'd had everyone except the navigation crews, the comm crews and the senior engineering officers vacate the bridge. "Mr. Crosetti are the engines ready?" The Senior Officer of the Engine and Repair crews replied affirmatively. "Hyperdrive? Shields? Starfighters? Repair droids?" He said check to all of them.

Hakuto faced the senior officer of the Communication crew. "Mr. Zhurid are the comm towers in working order?" He replied with a "Yessir." "Are the ship-to-ship comm systems clear of interfering frequencies?" Another _Yes, sir_ was said_._ "Good, very good."

Hakuto waved them aside and approached the senior officer of the Navigation crew, Hano, and pulled out a small disposable datapad. "Mr. Hano the coordinates to the Maw Cluster are on this datapad. Follow them to the letter. If there are any mishaps you and you alone will take any and all responsibility. Am I clear?" "Yes, Admiral," he replied. "Well then get back to your stations. I wanted us in hyperspace 10 minutes ago." The officers laughed and went on their way.

Hakuto followed Lieutenant Zhurid to the Comm station. "Zhurid, sound general quarters and inform everyone else in our fleet that we are jumping." "Of course, Admiral." was his weary reply. Hakuto could tell that Zhurid was disappointed that they weren't seeing combat, but orders_ were_ orders.

Hakuto strode over to the Navigation station. "Lieutenant Hano are the coordinates in?" "Sir, they've been in for almost an hour." Hakuto laughed and slapped him on the back. He liked the Twi'lek. "Good. Contact, Commander Crosetti and we can be on our way." "Yes, sir." he replied, with a fake smile. _Fuckin' orders. What the hell _was_ the Council thinking?_

Hakuto walked over to and sat in his hard chair. Ellb was standing next to him. "Permission to speak, sir?" he asked. "Granted." replied Hakuto. Ellb faced Hakuto and stared at him with those piercing, and slightly unnerving, black eyes. "Sir, will we ever get a chance to engage Republic ships?" Hakuto sat there for a few moments in brooding silence. "I don't know, Commander. Whether we like them or not, we have to follow orders."As if it agreed with those words the stars in front of the _Chaos_ began streaking into lines and she shot off into hyperspace.


End file.
